Coach Rick Neuheisel said Richard Brehaut "probably" would start at quarterback for Saturday's home opener against San Jose State as Kevin Prince recovers from a shoulder injury suffered last week at Houston.

It would be the eighth career start for Brehaut, who took over in the second quarter last week and passed for 264 yards and two touchdowns after Prince left because of a mild concussion and a slight shoulder sprain. Brehaut went 2-5 as a starter last season.

"Probably," Neuheisel answered when asked if Brehaut would start. "I’m not going to be held down to that, but Kevin will be available and we'll hopefully get him in there."

Neuheisel had planned to give both Prince and Brehaut playing time in the opener at Houston and said he planned to do the same Saturday night at the Rose Bowl, but, again, is non-committal about his rotation plans.

"I was of the mind that both deserved to play and I was going to make sure both did," he said. "But I didn’t have any ideas as to how it was going to go because I couldn’t predict the game and I wouldn’t do that in this instance either."

Prince sat out of practice Tuesday but returned Wednesday. He complained of soreness in his shoulder after practice and did not throw much Thursday, but Neuheisel still did not fully commit to starting Brehaut, acknowledging the main reason was because he wanted to "keep his cards close to the vest."

Prince said Wednesday that "some throws came with pain" in his shoulder, especially "deeper throws when I tried to put a little more zip on it." He took some first-team reps Thursday but almost exclusively on running plays. He completed a short screen pass to Randall Carroll, but didn't throw after that.

"Kevin is fine," Neuheisel said. "He rested it but he could have ripped it around today. We're just giving it another 24 hours and he’ll throw a bit tomorrow and be ready to go on Saturday."